The Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences has appointed Assistant Professor Adrianne M. Crawford Fletcher the school’s inaugural assistant dean for diversity and inclusion.
“I am thrilled to see Dr. Fletcher take on this important leadership position,” said Grover C. Gilmore, the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Dean in Applied Social Sciences. “Her personal, professional and scholarly interests are perfectly aligned with the goals of advancing the school’s daily efforts in diversity and inclusion.”
In this position, Fletcher will lead the Mandel School’s efforts to ensure the school provides a welcoming, safe and productive environment for all students, faculty and staff. Fletcher said a critical examination of issues of diversity and inclusion is especially important for a school of social work.
“In the social work field, we are so immersed in social justice it can lead to an illusion that we get it right and that we are immune to biases,” she said. “There’s an assumption of social justice, which can make it even harder for us to be intentional about topics of diversity and inclusion even as they relate to our own school.”
In her role, Fletcher will serve on a university-wide Committee on Minority Affairs as well as the Faculty Senate’s Committee on Women Faculty. She will also create a school committee on diversity and inclusion composed of students, staff and faculty.